


It's All About Timing

by newbatgirl



Series: Repulsor Red (Handed) [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 13:09:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19442098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newbatgirl/pseuds/newbatgirl
Summary: Part three of a secret relationship 5 +1 fic in which Steve and Darcy hide their romance when living with "Earth's Nosiest Heroes"This is set (loosely) after CA:TWS and Thor: TDW but before A:AOU.





	It's All About Timing

_Stark Tower..._ _Office of Pepper Potts..._

Pepper pointed to a date on the holographic display. “You don’t look convinced, Steve. This is the arrangement that JARVIS says works with everyone’s schedule.” 

Steve frowned at the display. He knew that using Tony’s AI to optimize the Avengers’ very complicated appearance schedule made sense, especially since they could no longer rely on SHIELD for the task. It just looked...wrong somehow. And he could not figure out why, let alone explain it to Pepper. 

“To be honest, I'm not sure what’s wrong. It just feels off to me. I can’t put my—” 

His words were cut off by the buzzing of Pepper’s intercom. 

“Ms. Potts, Ms. Lewis is here with the grant reports you requested,” Pepper’s assistant said through the device. 

“Oh, of course,” Pepper said absently. “Send Darcy in.” 

Steve looked up from the display as soon as he heard Darcy’s name, just in time to see her stroll in. She wore her lab coat over the midnight blue dress that he had zipped her into that morning. Her hair was down, for reasons that he refused to feel guilty about. She’d complained that she really shouldn’t wear her hair down in the lab for safety reasons but that a certain super-soldier had left too many marks on her neck to allow her to wear it up. Steve’s “apology” and promise to be more careful in the future had been half-hearted at best and they both knew it. 

“Hey, Pepper. I have this quarter’s reports for you.” she said, holding up a Stark tablet. 

“Thanks, Darcy. You can bring it over here,” replied Pepper from behind her desk. 

Darcy handed over the tablet and waited as Pepper opened it to scan the data. She sent a casual wave to Steve when their eyes met over the desk though he was fairly certain she had known he was there the instant she walked in. 

“Hey, Cap.” She always called him Cap when there were others around. He didn’t mind since the way she said his name when they were alone more than made up for It. 

“Hey, Darcy.” 

“This looks good, Darcy,” Pepper said a moment later. “Thank you. It so much easier to submit these grant reports to the board every quarter now that I’ve put you in charge of them.” 

Darcy shrugged. “Earth’s mightiest lab assistant. I avenge bureaucratic red tape...mostly because no one else wants to.” 

“You’re selling yourself short again, Darcy. What have I said about that? You have a knack for—” Pepper trailed off, glancing the schedule display again. “Actually, would you mind staying for a few minutes? We could use a fresh pair of eyes.” 

Darcy followed Pepper over to the display. “Sure, but what am I looking at?” 

“Avengers appearance schedule.” Steve replied. “SHIELD used to have a team of analysts that sorted this out. Now it’s on us. JARVIS has optimized it based on availability but I’m not sure—” 

“You’re not sure it’s right.” Darcy finished for him. “No offense, JARVIS,” she added quickly. Steve had to smile. Darcy always treated JARVIS as if it — he? — were a person whose feelings could be hurt. Maybe that’s why the AI had kept their secret for so long. 

“None taken, Miss Lewis. I've done my best based on the given parameters,” JARVIS replied. 

“What were the given parameters?” Darcy asked, tapping a few of the date blocks with her index finger. 

“Availability, mostly. We also tried to meet the requesting organizations’ specific requests but to be honest, we’re a little behind on this,” Steve admitted. Yet another reason that his having to leave for three weeks have been less than ideal. “Why do you ask?” 

“Well, a couple of Tony’s assignments are frankly way too early in the morning given that he’s deep into the Mach V these days and he does most of his ‘best work’ at night. Even if he does make it to them, he’ll be in a terrible mood.” 

Pepper frowned. “You’re right. I should have caught that. I suppose I was being optimistic about his sleep schedule.” 

“Darcy? What do you suggest?” Steve asked. 

“For those two early events? They’re STEM-related requests so I'd swap in Bruce if he’s up for it. If there are safety concerns, or if he’s not feeling up to doing them in person, suggest a video conference from here. Either way they get access to a big brain with a side of hero so I doubt they’ll turn it down.” 

Steve nodded. “That’s good thinking, sw---” He caught himself before he called her “sweetheart” in front of Pepper. And from the way Darcy’s eyes widened slightly, she’d also caught his near mistake. 

Thankfully, Pepper seemed to be occupied with editing the calendar events and did not appear to have noticed. 

“OK,” said Pepper, when she was done. “Do you see anything else that looks like it might be a problem?” 

“Well....” Darcy hesitated as she tapped more squares with her finger, expanding them so she could scroll through the details. “If you’re just thinking about availability, it’s fine, I guess. But if you’d want to make sure these appearances are actually enjoyable for everyone; I have a couple more suggestions.” 

“Go ahead,” Steve prompted. “I...umm, _we_ really want to hear what you think. It didn’t look right to us before either. These are part of the job but it would be good if we could actually enjoy them.” 

“OK, there’s these two political events you’ve given Clint? He’ll do them but he’s going to hate every second. I’d swap out at least one of them to keep him sane. Switch-out that kids camp event that Thor’s doing the same week. Clint’s just as good with kids and Thor is a prince slash diplomat after all. From what he says, politicians are pretty much the same on every planet.” 

“I can believe that,” Pepper agreed, tapping the display. “If Thor doesn’t mind, let’s change it. See anything else?” 

“Those were the ones that really stood out to me.” 

“Are you sure?” Steve pressed. 

Darcy nibbled at her lower lip for a moment (something that Steve really wished she wouldn’t do when there were other people around) before she spoke. “This hospital appearance,” she said pointing to a block, “I know you like to do them but there’s no reason for you to do them alone. It’s in the late afternoon so if Tony’s not completely buried, you can get him to the do a fly-by of the hospital building. Maybe hover outside the children’s wing? The kids would love it. I think it would be good...” She trailed off. 

Steve nodded slowly, mostly at what she didn’t say. She wanted to say “good for you guys” but she stopped herself. She was right, though. He and Tony should probably do something together that was team-related and didn’t involve repulsor blasts. 

“I think you’re right,” he replied carefully, eyes on Darcy and not the display. “It would be...good.” They hadn’t actually talked about the stilted nature of his relationship with Tony. Darcy just knew. 

Pepper’s clear voice startled them out of the bubble they had inadvertently slipped into. 

“I agree. Good thinking, Darcy!” she said, editing the final date block. “JARVIS, can you send these updates to the team members? All replies should go to Steve and myself... Although, scratch that last part, JARVIS.” She smiled warmly at Darcy. “It’s clear that, given the amount of time you spend with the team, you have better suggestions about this than I do, Darcy. Would you mind helping Steve out with this on an ongoing basis? I know you have a lot on your plate — some of it I put there — but I don’t think it would take a great deal of time. Right, Steve?” 

“No, I don’t think so,” he replied, thinking exactly the opposite. They could make it take as much time as they wanted. “I’d appreciate the help. We could do it like we did this time, have JARVIS sort out the timing and then take a second look at it together to make sure everyone’s a good fit.” 

Darcy did not look convinced. “Me? Don’t you guys have PR people who would be way better at this?” 

“Apparently not. In the space of five minutes, you’ve made more useful suggestions than our old team did in a week,” Steve replied. 

“Or I did in an hour,” Pepper added. 

“Now I know you’re exaggerating,” Darcy deflected again. 

Steve knew that despite the fact that Darcy spent most of her time with several people she collectively called “science geniuses” she actually believed that Pepper Potts was the smartest person she’d ever met. As a result, she was absolutely terrible at taking compliments from the woman. 

“Without your suggestion I would have sent Tony into a room full of engineers at nine in the morning, sleep deprived and wearing his Iron Man suit!” Pepper pointed out. 

Steve winced. When she put it like that, one of them really should have caught that one before now. 

Darcy opened her mouth to respond but she was cut off by Pepper’s intercom buzzing a second time. 

“Ms. Potts, you asked me to remind you when your eleven o’clock arrived. I’ve settled them in the conference room.” 

“Right, thank you. Tell them I’ll be there in a moment,” Pepper replied. To Steve and Darcy she said, “I apologize. My next meeting is here. I trust that the two of you can sort this out without me?” 

“Of course, we’ve taken up too much of your time on this.” Steve said. 

Pepper gathered up her tablet, and smiled at them again, “No, I assure you, this hasn’t been a waste of my time. I’m certain you’ll figure things out.” And with that, Pepper was out of the office before either of them could respond. 

Once she was gone, Steve stepped closer to Darcy. Not as close as he wanted though, as he was still mindful of the open door. 

“So, do I have to convince you to help me out on this?” 

Darcy’s eyes darted to the open door. Then she titled her head back so she could meet his gaze. “Yes and no.” 

“Yes and no?” 

“No, you don’t have to convince me but yes, I’d like you to,” she clarified. 

Steve smiled in understanding. “I think we can arrange that. You really are good at this, by the way. You see things that the rest of us miss. I'd want you to help, even if I wasn’t looking forward to the convincing you part.” 

“That’s sweet of you to say.” 

“It’s the truth,” Steve shifted so his body was between hers and the door, then reached out to caress the inside of her wrist with the tips of his fingers. “So, what do you say I order dinner in tonight and we can get started on the next batch of requests? Among other things.” 

“What time?” 

“Seven?” 

“Sounds perfect.” 

***** 

_Stark Tower...Apartment of Steve Rogers...a few weeks later...early morning..._

Darcy’s phone buzzed as Steve was zipping her into her dress as they both got ready for the day. He moved her hair over one shoulder so it wouldn’t be in his way as he fastened the tiny hook at the top of the zipper. Truth be told, Darcy was perfectly capable of getting into her dresses on her own, even the ones with back zippers. But Steve seemed to enjoy helping her so who was she to spoil his fun? It tended to work out for them both since he almost always stole a few kisses or went exploring while he was back there. 

“Little early for the geniuses, isn’t it?” Steve asked from over her shoulder as she reached for her phone. 

“It is,” she agreed, swiping at the screen. “Both Jane and Tony were up late and Bruce... Oh, never mind, it’s from Pepper.” 

Darcy clicked on the video link that Pepper had sent and smiled as her phone screen filled with a video of Steve standing at the window of a hospital ward surrounded by laughing children as they all waved at Tony in his full iron Man gear hovering outside. It had been recorded at their hospital appearance the previous afternoon. 

It hadn’t been very hard to convince Tony to do the flyby outside the hospital. All Darcy had needed to do was remind him (several times) to keep it G-rated for their audience. 

From the logo in the corner of the video, it had been posted by one of the national morning news programs. The clip ended and the video switched back to the morning show studio but the anchors kept discussing the clip while the headline “CAPTAIN AMERICA, IRON MAN DELIGHT KIDS AT MANHATTAN HOSPITAL” appeared on the lower portion of the screen. 

As she watched, another text from Pepper came in.   
  
**Pepper: It’s on all the morning news programs.**

**Darcy: That’s awesome.** **They did really great.**

 **Pepper: It was your idea. Take some credit. What have I said about selling yourself short?**

“What’s going on?” Steve asked and Darcy showed him her phone and Pepper’s texts. 

He smiled at the video and nodded pointedly at Pepper’s text. “She’s right. This was your idea.” 

Darcy shook her head. “You guys did all the actual hero stuff. You were your adorable self with the kiddos and Tony was his extra self at the window. It’s about the execution.”

Steve kissed the top of her head. “You are absolutely terrible at taking a compliment, you know that? We need to work on that. I’m going to make the coffee.” 

Darcy swatted his bottom lightly as he passed her, then looked down at her phone as it buzzed again. 

**Pepper:** **Maybe Steve can convince you to take some credit for this. Be sure to show this to him.**

Darcy frowned slightly at the directive. Why didn’t Pepper just send Steve the link? 

**Pepper: Of course, you’ll see him before I will.** **😊** **Enjoy the rest of your morning!**

Shit. 

Not bothering to find her shoes, Darcy padded into the kitchen to find Steve. He was taking mugs down from the shelf when she thrust her phone at him. 

“What do you think she means by that?” she asked bluntly. 

Steve traded one of the mugs for the phone and scanned the screen impassively. 

“Well,” he said finally. “I see she agrees with me about your inability to take a compliment.” 

“Ha Ha. Not that part, smart ass. The part about me seeing you before she would.” 

Steve tossed the phone onto the counter. “She’s obviously right about that, too.” 

Darcy shot him a glare, one that softened only when he wrapped his arms around her. 

“She’s figured us out, hasn’t she?” 

“I wouldn’t be surprised. But if she has, she’s also figured out that we want to keep things quiet for a while, otherwise she would have been more direct about it before now.” 

Darcy laid her head against his chest and nodded. “You’re probably right.” 

“As much as I’m enjoying having you all to myself — and not having to listen to a whole bunch of really bad jokes from Tony and Clint — everyone’s going to find out eventually.” He dipped his head to meet her gaze. “I’m not planning on going anywhere. Are you?” 

Darcy rose up on her toes to kiss his lips. “Not bloody likely. I’m getting kind of attached to you.” 

“Same. But I’m fine with still keeping this to ourselves if you are. I’m enjoying the lack of a running commentary on everything we do. The longer we can avoid that, the better.” 

Darcy nodded and rose up to kiss him again and Steve tapped his fingertips against her cheek to stop her. “By the way, we received a bunch of appearance requests yesterday afternoon and we’ll probably get more today thanks to this morning’s news. You and I are going to need to sit down and work out next month’s schedule.” 

“Hmmmm, you make it sound like that could take a lot of time.” 

Steve leaned down to brush his lips against hers. “I’m counting on it.” 

End. 


End file.
